Why have goods and vehicles passing through Cau Treo international border gate decreased sharply?

At the end of the year, goods and vehicles passing through Cau Treo international border gate have decreased sharply. What is the reason?

Vehicles waiting for customs clearance at Cau Treo international border gate - Photo: LE MINH

On December 4, Tuoi Tre Online reporters were present at Cau Treo international border gate (Son Kim 1 commune, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh ) and recorded the atmosphere here was quite quiet.

Although it is the last month of the year, the flow of people, vehicles and goods through the border gate is quite low. The large wharf area that was previously full of vehicles now has only a few trucks waiting to go through customs clearance procedures.

Road damage, load restrictions

According to some drivers who regularly transport goods through Cau Treo international border gate, for many months now the road from Laos to Cau Treo international border gate has been eroded and severely damaged, making it very difficult for large trucks to travel to Cau Treo international border gate.

Mr. Dao Nghia Dong, deputy head of the Cau Treo International Border Gate Customs Branch, said that due to many reasons, the flow of people and goods through the border gate at this time has decreased significantly compared to the same period in previous years.

Accordingly, in August 2023, National Highway 8 in Bolikhamxay province of Laos suffered a serious landslide, causing traffic disruption. Since then, the incident has not been completely resolved, leading to a decrease in traffic to Cau Treo international border gate.

In addition, some routes from Laos connecting to the border gate are also restricted by the neighboring country's load capacity, so transport businesses have to return to the country through other border gates.

Imported goods through major border gates such as energy drinks and ores have also decreased sharply because recently businesses have mainly shifted to Cha Lo international border gate ( Quang Tri ).

As for agricultural products such as cassava chips, the harvest season has just begun, so there are not many businesses importing through the border gate.

Authorities check vehicles to prevent smuggled and banned goods from entering the country - Photo: LE MINH

Tighten the control of banned and smuggled goods entering the country

According to Mr. Dong, by the end of 2023, the total budget revenue of the Cau Treo International Border Gate Customs Branch reached over 550 billion VND, exceeding the assigned plan. However, from the beginning of 2024 until now, the total budget revenue of the unit has only reached nearly 190 billion VND.

"This clearly shows a sharp decrease in goods and vehicles circulating through the border gate," said Mr. Dong.

To improve the above situation, the department has recently focused on promoting and mobilizing businesses to transport goods through the border gate, reforming administrative procedures in a quick and concise manner, and at the same time requesting Laos to quickly fix the landslide on Road 8 to help businesses transport goods smoothly.

At the customs clearance area, each vehicle passing through is carefully inspected by customs and border guards to prevent smuggled and prohibited goods from entering the country.

Major Vo Anh Tuan - Head of the Cau Treo International Border Gate Border Guard Station (Ha Tinh Provincial Border Guard), said that this is the end of the year, the situation of transporting smuggled and prohibited goods is more complicated, so the forces have increased inspections to promptly detect and prevent violations.

“The hottest time of the year is the situation of transporting firecrackers and illegal drugs through the border gate.

Currently, the subjects transporting illegal fireworks through the border gate are very sophisticated when reinforcing the chassis and ceiling of the vehicle to contain the fireworks, making it difficult for the authorities to inspect. However, in the past time, through professional measures, the unit has promptly detected many cases of transporting large quantities of illegal fireworks, preventing the subjects from transporting the banned goods inland" - Major Tuan said.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vi-sao-hang-hoa-phuong-tien-qua-cua-khau-quoc-te-cau-treo-giam-manh-2024120509523371.htm